Timon Idema (Associate Professor, BioNanoscience) develops theoretical models of cell biophysics. Research: (1) membrane shape theory — analytical and computational models of membrane curvature, budding, and fission driven by proteins; (2) cytoskeletal self-organisation — theoretical description of how microtubules and actin form functional structures during cell division; (3) synthetic cell theory — physical constraints and design principles for minimal cells. Collaborates closely with Dogterom and Koenderink labs on comparing theory with single-molecule experiments.

Ivanov works on nanotechnology-enabled biosensors and biophysical measurement platforms, including nanopore and microfluidic devices for single-molecule and single-particle biosensing.

Prof. Jacobsen's group develops novel methods, instruments, and analysis approaches for X-ray nanoscale imaging and applies them to biology and environmental science, using the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne. Directions: (1) Scanning X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXFM) for organ-wide and nanoscale elemental mapping of metals (zinc, copper, iron) in biological tissues — central to the NIH-funded QE-Map national resource; imaging how metals regulate cellular functions, synaptic zinc signaling, and neurodegenerative disease; (2) X-ray ptychography and coherent diffractive imaging (CDI) for nanoscale biological imaging beyond the diffraction limit with improved dose efficiency; (3) Development of new algorithms, optics (zone plates), and detector systems to push spatial resolution and dose efficiency in X-ray microscopy — including lensless imaging methods and compressed-sensing reconstruction. Joint appointment at Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne Distinguished Fellow); also involved in QE-Map resource with Kozorovitskiy and Hao Zhang (McCormick).

Arjen Jakobi (Associate Professor, BioNanoscience) uses cryo-electron microscopy and tomography for structural cell biology. Research: (1) cryo-ET in-cell structural biology — resolving protein complexes at near-atomic resolution inside vitrified cells; (2) autophagy and membrane remodelling — structural mechanism of autophagosome biogenesis; (3) integrin signalling complexes. Develops algorithms for sub-tomogram averaging and de-novo model building.

PREFERRED. Jasanoff's lab develops genetically encoded and nanoparticle/small-molecule MRI sensors (for calcium, dopamine, serotonin, and other neurochemical targets) that convert molecular binding events into brain-wide, noninvasive MRI contrast changes, effectively giving whole-brain 'molecular fMRI' with a growing palette of chemically distinct reporters; recent work includes liposomal nanoprobes actuated by engineered water channels for higher-sensitivity detection.

Jimenez's group develops microfluidic fluorescence-activated cell-sorting platforms to engineer and screen fluorescent proteins/biosensors, alongside ultrafast and single-molecule spectroscopy of biomolecular photophysics - bridging photophysics, instrumentation, and quantitative bioimaging probes. For context, this complements the established paradigm of NV-diamond ensemble magnetometry (Hahn-echo/DEER, nanoscale NMR, T1 relaxometry) operating near pT/√Hz sensitivity.

Jones's group develops optical tweezers instrumentation for biological applications. Research directions: (1) Single-cell mechanics — using optical traps to apply calibrated forces to cells and measure viscoelastic properties relevant to cancer invasion and immune response; (2) Motor protein biophysics — measuring force-velocity curves of kinesin/myosin motors at the single-molecule level; (3) Optical sorting — holographic optical tweezers for cell sorting by mechanical phenotype; (4) Instrument development — fast-switching AOD-based traps, quantitative phase imaging combined with force measurement. Sensitive to pN forces, combining biosensing with fundamental biophysics.

Chirlmin Joo (Full Professor, BioNanoscience) uses single-molecule fluorescence to study RNA dynamics and CRISPR-Cas. Research: (1) single-molecule FRET and direct RNA imaging — visualizing RNA folding, ribozyme catalysis, and mRNA translation dynamics; (2) CRISPR-Cas mechanism — real-time observation of Cas9 and Cas13 target search and cleavage; (3) nanopore-based protein sensing integration with optical tools. ERC Grant.

Jeroen Kalkman develops optical tomography and spectroscopy methods for biomedical imaging. Research: (1) Fourier-domain OCT including spectroscopic OCT for tissue structural and functional imaging; (2) novel light sources and detectors for skin cancer detection (NWO KIC project NextDeLights); (3) scattering media imaging. His work is relevant to advanced biosensing with optical coherence.

Kaminski's Laser Analytics Group develops laser-based super-resolution and fluorescence-lifetime imaging methods (STED, SIM, dSTORM, FLIM) and applies them, with long-time collaborator Gabriele Kaminski Schierle, to visualise amyloid protein aggregation in live cells and organisms as a route to understanding neurodegenerative disease; the group also directs the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies.